Dietsch
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Dietsch ("Diets" in modern Dutch) is a colloquial word for the Middle Dutch language. In a linguistic context however, it specifically refers to the southern Middle Dutch dialects such as Brabantian, Flemish and Limburgish. Diets(ch) is a cognate of "Dutch", "Deutsch" and "Duits".
In 16th and 17th century "Duits" and "Diets" were spelling variants of the same word. A modern translation for this word however would in both cases be "Dutch", even though "Duits" in modern Dutch means "German".
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[edit] Origin and linguistic meaning
"Diets" derives itself from the Middle Dutch word "diet" meaning "people". In a linguistic context, "Diets" refers to the southern dialects and "Duuts" (which differs from "Diets" due to Frisian influence) to the Northern ones. The word relates closely to the Gothic word thiuda and the Old English Þéod, both meaning the same.
The forms "duits" and "diets" evolved later on. The Old Dutch, as well a the Old High German, form of "diets" is "diut". This evolved into "diet" and "duut" and their adjective forms "diets" and "duuts". The word "duut" later became "duits" because of a specifically Dutch sound shift (u → ui) which turned a vowel into a diphthong. "Duits" soon only referred to the German language and people because the diphthong "ui" now made "duuts" sound like the German ethnonym "Deutsch", compare German [dɔʏ̯tʃ] (Deutsch) with Dutch [dœyts] (Duijtsch/Duytsch/Duits). "Diets" was used along "Nederlands" (both meaning "Dutch") until the Second World War when after the German occupation it fell in disuse because the Germans and Dutch-speaking fascists used the word extensively in their propaganda.
[edit] Disappearance from everyday speech
Until 1830, the Dutch and Flemish (who live in Northern Belgium) were considered to be one single people, and in fact some people still do so. Due to historical causes, mostly rooted in the Dutch revolt the two groups slowly started to diverge. The concept of "Diets" did not make a distinction between Dutch people even though in reality it began to form itself. Thus when Belgium, including the Flemish, proclaimed their independence from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (which included all Dutch speakers) the use of "diets" was limited and depended heavily on context.
In the 19th century, when the creation of national states took hold over Europe, the use of terms like Nederduits waned in the Netherlands. The German unification by Prussia, led Bismarck enforcing High German as the official language of State in in the regions bordering the Netherlands and Belgium. It led to suppression of the Low Franconian and Low German (also called Niederdeutsch, Plattdeutsch or Plattdüütsch) dialects in the western and northern part of Germany. That suppression and the growth of power of Prussia during the German unification, caused a counter response to emphasise Nederlands and Vlaams as the name of their languages to signal its difference from Deutsch and Deutschland. Keeping distance to potential great German claims and potential invasion was considered patriotic. The term "diets" gradually became used only by adherers to a great German cause.
However, the main reason why "Diets" is no longer a part of common speech in Dutch, is the adoption of it in the 20th century by fascists (NSB, Zwart Front, Verdinaso and VNV). They used it extensively in their propaganda. "Diets" in their use referred to the shared ethnical origin of both the Dutch and Flemish and to form the name of their dream of "Dietsland", an a-historic, conceptual country in which all Dutch people were united, but close to Germany. The actual German invasion in World War II discredited this movement and made "Diets" a term for adherers to a fascist great German cause.
[edit] See also
- Greater Netherlands
- Whole-Netherlands
- Dutch (disambiguation)
- Dutch language
- Dutch people
- Flemish people
- Low Dietsch
[edit] Sources
- M.C. van den Toorn e.a. (eds.), Geschiedenis van de Nederlandse taal, 1997.
- M. de Vries e.a., Woordenboek der Nederlandsche Taal (1882-1998)
- Guy Janssens & Ann Marynissen, Het Nederlands vroeger en nu, 2003.
- Paardekooper, P.C. (1962). Er zijn geen Belgen!; zes causeriën (in Dutch). Standaard-Boekhandel. OCLC 38812137. nl:Diets
